Official MMA Predictions Thread.

[evilbeefchan]

Yea, Fedor not only knocked out a guy 8inches taller and about 10 lbs (walking weight) heavier, but knocked down and submitted him. That was awesome.

I think Silva's KO was called about right, as he needed a few more shots to prove that his opponent wasn't able to intelligently defend himself further.

[Daval]

Both PPV's were great. I'm not a big fan of the ring, but I can see how some people like it....however I wish the refs were consistant with their standups/reposistions.
I was really pissed off at the Anthony Johnson TKO, that should have been ruled a DQ or a no contest. Burns was warned MULTIPLE times to watch the eyepoke. It was obvious to me that when Johnson went down it wasn't a standard knockout, something was very wrong with the way he yelped. Mazzagatti really pissed me off their and I hope Johnson appeals to the athletic board. He was very classy in the interviews though, I woulda been fuming.

Fedor and Silva are both just freaking amazing. Arlovski's was one of my favourite fights of the night.

[AgentZero]

There is no one quite like Fedor. I had no doubt that he would take down Silvia. Fedor has fought bigger men.

When I saw the Affliction card I was very excited. I have not paid for a UFC PPV for awhile because they have been downright boring cards. Let's hope the competition improves MMA. Fedor has two more fights contracted with Affliction...let's hope a Fedor/Couture fight happens...soon.

And now what does Dana White have to say about Fedor? Can't really say too much negative about the greatest MMA heavy weight fighter of all time. Okay I am a Fedor nut hugger.

[Daval]

Word has it that Fedor gets Andrei Arlovski next......

[cameroncrazy822]

I predict that any professional boxer who gets into the ring in MMA will get DESTROYED... end of prediction

[evilbeefchan]

Yea, White did comment on Fedor after the fight, although briefly.

"...upon learning that Emelianenko had submitted ex-UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif., in less than a minute, White unflinchingly admitted he was impressed.
“It does (change my opinion),” he conceded. “Tim Sylvia was a real opponent.”"
White stands by his man Silva - MMA - Yahoo! Sports

Elite XC's 2nd CBS show is this Saturday, with the Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith rematch. I'm not as excited for this show as I was for the first, though I have no doubt that their rematch will be awesome. I'm hoping for some crazy KO in the 3rd, courtesy of Lawler.

[Bear Cub]

Ok.

I'm watching UFC right now, and all it is doing is reminding me of just how much I HATE Heath Herring. He has to be one of the cockiest uber-douches I've ever seen.

My prediction is that Brock Lesnar is going to annihilate Heath Herring, and I can't wait to see it.

[m0rpheus]

Originally Posted by cameroncrazy822

I predict that any professional boxer who gets into the ring in MMA will get DESTROYED... end of prediction

I don't know about destroyed. It would depend on the oppenent. If he's facing a guy thats pretty much pure striking then he'd do okay. He'd need to learn takedown and ground defence pretty quickly though to not get beat by pretty much anyone else.

[evilbeefchan]

UFC 87 this Saturday, with 3 big matches I'm super excited for.

Georges St. Pierre (c) vs. Jon Fitch - St. Pierre has proven to be a great fighter, but so has Jon Fitch. Fitch is riding a crazy unbeaten streak (I think 15 according to Sherdog), with wins via TKO, submission and decision. Not sure if he's gone through 5 rounds before, but I'm thinking his cardio will be good enough to hold up. Whether it's good enough to hold up against St. Pierre is the better question. Pierre has proven to be practically unstoppable when he's focused, but will this fight go the same as St. Pierre/Serra 1? I'm going St. Pierre with ref stoppage, 3rd round.

Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian
2 very exciting fighters, I have very high expectations for this fight. From Huerta using the big screen to land reverse elbows, or to Florian's crazy razor elbows, I'm thinking this will be fight of the night. Florian via split decision.

Heath Herring vs Brock Lesnar
I used to be a big fan of Lesnar back in WWF, and am happy to see him pursuing MMA. That said, I think Herring may have too much experience for him. Fought in Pride between 2000-2004, facing practically all the popular fighters there. And still a year younger than Brock! With that said, I still have high hopes for Lesnar. If he's trained with the right coaches, I think he can really be a tough opponent for Herring. Aw hell, I love Lesnar, so I say 2nd round TKO.

[Bear Cub]

The thing with Herring, is that he can struggle mightily against good wrestlers. I forget who it was he was fighting (it was in the UFC), but it was a virtual no-name with no standup whatsoever, and the guy turned it completely into a wrestling match. He beat Herring by decision, because Herring literally couldn't get a single hit in. Lesnar is powerful enough and a good enough wrestler to do the same if for some reason he felt the standup wasn't going his way.

[Bear Cub]

Bwaaaahahaha, Lesnar wins 30-26!

[Mojo_PeiPei]

That right hand to the face of Herring into the bull rush is probably one of the most ridiculous things I have ever witnessed in the UFC.

[evilbeefchan]

Good show overall, the title match was the fight of the night. Good on Fitch for sticking it out, I was really impressed with his heart (and especially his chin). I'm guessing they'll push for a St. Pierre/Penn rematch for the end of the year.

Good to see Lesnar get a win, you can tell he disciplined himself so he wouldn't get caught like last time. I'm excited to see how his skills grow as he gets more fights, and as long as his quickness and weight don't fail him he has a bright MMA future.

I was a bit disappointed in the Florian/Huerta match, as i was looking for a wild fight. Had it gone that way, Huerta probably would have won. It made sense for Florian to keep the pace going his way, as Huerta has good punching power that can take over in a brawl. Florian did a great job of preventing Huerta from getting a rhythm going, and generally frustrate him enough to throw off his game plan. I'm hoping Florian gets a title match soon.

[YaWhateva]

Yeah I really enjoyed the card. I was disappointed that Fitch lost but the fight was really good. I would have also liked to see Huerta win.

[m0rpheus]

Great fight by GSP and a good effort by Fitch. Fitch is really good but GSP is just better. Guess we get GSP/BJ two now. I hope GSP runs over him (I just don't like BJ Penn).

Was it just me, or did Lesnar looked totally gassed by the last round?

[evilbeefchan]

UFC 88 this Saturday, headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans, with the return of Dan Henderson as well as Rich Franklin facing Matt Hamill.

Liddell is returning after an injury prevented this matchup from happening at UFC 85, which was originally Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Rashad hasn't been active since his decision win over Michael Bisping last November. This should be interesting to see, as Liddell lost to Jardine back at UFC 76, who is a training partner with Rashad (over at Greg Jackson's camp). Keith did a good job of maneuvering out of Liddell's range and scoring points with low kicks, I'm guessing Rashad's going to work the same plan. Liddell always has that punching power and good takedown defense, as well as that "octagon control" they seem to talk about a lot.

Rich Franklin's experience and conditioning is up against Matt Hamill's strength and durability. I'm actually most excited for this fight, as Hamill continues to impress the hell out of me.

The biggest news is Randy Couture has signed a 3 fight contract with the UFC, and will defend his Heavyweight Title against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in November. The winner of this match faces the winner of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir, for a Heavyweight Title Unification bout. I am definitely excited to see Couture fight again. I don't like that they're giving Lesnar a title shot already, however. I understand he's got a lot of buzz around him, but it's not really showing respect to the other fighters. With that said, I can't think of any alternative that they could have done, aside from making Couture wait until the outcome of Mir vs. Nog.

[Daval]

OK. I am a big fan of Brock Lesnar. I think he is exciting to watch, I think he has huge potential and for the size of the guy, I think his speed is just crazy. Saying that though I think the fact that he is getting a title shot with a 1-1 record in the UFC is an abomination. I don't care if he can (and may do) win against Couture. He needs to pay his dues first and climb the ladder like everyone else has. After a year or two of doing this and building him up - then give him his shot. This is a slap in the face to the heavyweight division and is being done for the big PPV buys that will happen. This will certainly be one of the highest buyrates for a PPV for sure - but in the long run it is hurting the heavyweight division.

Nog and Mir have been downgraded to a number one contenders match. That's bullshit.

I'm pissed of at Dana White for going for the big payday and not thinking about the division he should be respecting and building.

[m0rpheus]

No way Brock has earned this fight. Either a) Dana White sees the dollar signs, b) Randy sees something in Brock and wanted to fight him before his career ends, or c) Randy thinks Brock is totally overrated and wants to beat him down.
The only thing is if you want Randy to fight someone and you take Mir and Nog out of the mix (due to the Ultimate Fighter already in production) who do you have Randy face?
Randy beat Gonzaga in his last fight so he's out, Brock just beat Herring, Brandon Vera and Keith Jardine are fighting in October although Werdum's an option coming off two wins this year against Gonzaga and Vera.

Of course one of the bigger Light heavyweights could move up too.

[Mojo_PeiPei]

About Brock and Randy, it is a little rush, but I think there are a few things to consider. The biggest is that the UFC's HW division is a little "lite" right now, I thought Vera had moved down to LHW, which is the same division as Jardine. Brock should pay dues, but Dana made a good point about how picking Brock's next fight was supposed to be with Kongo, but nobody really seemed to be into it.

[Bear Cub]

Of course its about the money, but who cares? Lesnar easily could have been 2-0 right now. He outright beat the shit out of Frank Mir, and nobody on the planet can deny that. If he doesn't deserve to be where he is, then Couture will walk all over him anyways. There aren't many heavyweights Randy hasn't beaten, why not put him up against the most powerful up and coming guy?

[Daval]

Originally Posted by Bear Cub

Of course its about the money, but who cares? Lesnar easily could have been 2-0 right now. He outright beat the shit out of Frank Mir, and nobody on the planet can deny that. If he doesn't deserve to be where he is, then Couture will walk all over him anyways. There aren't many heavyweights Randy hasn't beaten, why not put him up against the most powerful up and coming guy?

Because its a slap in the face to the rest of the heavyweight division that have been putting their bodies and careers on the line for Dana White.

Let's look at the heavyweights listed on UFC's own website (I left out Arlovski, Mir, Lesnar, Couture and Nogueira)

Carwin Shane 9-0-0 6' 4" (193 cm) 265 (120 kg)
Coleman Mark 15-8-0 6' 1" (185 cm) 255 (116 kg)
Eilers Justin 9-5-1 6' 1" (185 cm) 235 (107 kg)
Evensen Dan 10-3-0 6' 3" (191 cm) 250 (113 kg)
Gonzaga Gabriel 9-3-0 6' 1" (185 cm) 242 (110 kg)
Hardonk Antoni 7-4-0 6' 4" (193 cm) 245 (111 kg)
Kongo Cheick 22-4-1 6' 4" (193 cm) 240 (109 kg)
McCully Justin 8-4-2 6' 2" (188 cm) 240 (109 kg)
O'Brien Jake 10-2-0 6' 3" (191 cm) 230 (104 kg)
Sanchez Eddie 10-2-0 6' 2" (188 cm) 230 (104 kg)
Severn Dan 70-13-7 6' 2" (188 cm) 250 (113 kg)
Velasquez Cain 4-0-0 6' 1" (185 cm) 240 (109 kg)
Wain Neil 5-0-0 5' 10" (178 cm) 242 (110 kg)
Wellisch Christian 9-3-0 6' 3" (191 cm) 237 (108 kg)
Werdum Fabricio 11-3-1 6' 4" (193 cm) 231 (105 kg)

There is a lot of fighters on this list that are still active and have excellent records that could be more deserving of a title shot than Brock Lesnar. Brock should have to fight and beat 2 or 3 of these guys at the very least before he gets a chance at the title.

[Daval]

Originally Posted by evilbeefchan

UFC 88 this Saturday, headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans, with the return of Dan Henderson as well as Rich Franklin facing Matt Hamill.

Liddell is returning after an injury prevented this matchup from happening at UFC 85, which was originally Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Rashad hasn't been active since his decision win over Michael Bisping last November. This should be interesting to see, as Liddell lost to Jardine back at UFC 76, who is a training partner with Rashad (over at Greg Jackson's camp). Keith did a good job of maneuvering out of Liddell's range and scoring points with low kicks, I'm guessing Rashad's going to work the same plan. Liddell always has that punching power and good takedown defense, as well as that "octagon control" they seem to talk about a lot.

Rich Franklin's experience and conditioning is up against Matt Hamill's strength and durability. I'm actually most excited for this fight, as Hamill continues to impress the hell out of me.

My God! For a PPV that was only allright on paper and didn't really have me excited going into it - Wow! Great fights all around!

Rashad's knockout of Chuck was one of the best knockouts I've seen in the UFC! We seriously thought his jaw must be broken, I wonder if he was hurt badly, although you could see him walking around backstage after the fight. I think this may cause Chuck to retire, he's lost 3 of the last 4 fights now. Rashad really impressed and it didnt go to the ground at all.

Dan Hendersons fight I thought deserved fight of the night awards, he fought it extremely smart by refusing to engage the guy on the ground. Every time he tried he would be nearly submitted. This was a chess match going back and forth and I found it really exciting to watch.

Why the hell was Matt Hammil doing not trying to take it to the ground. I really like him but I think he went into this fight with a really poor gameplan.

[Paq]

Rashad...puttin liddel on the other side of the highlight reel.
that was brutal, but he was completely schooling liddel on how to stick and move. His interview after the fight was perfect..you can't take liddel down, you'll get caught and you'll never keep him down, so why not just train to outstrike him...

and hammil left his A, B and C game at home. I don't know what he was thinking for that fight


and judging from GSP and Rashad..the nipple twist at the beginning of the match must work...i don't know what it does, but it is batting 1000 so far...

[Paq]

evan tanner found dead:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Former UFC champ Tanner dead at 37

By Jeff Cain, Ken Pishna, and Tom Hamlin/MMAWeekly.com 2 hours, 23 minutes ago

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Related Coverage

* Iole: Tanner his own man
* Blog: Remembering Tanner

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Evan Tanner was found dead near Palo Verde, Calif. on Monday. He was 37.

Tanner had trekked into the desert on a journey to “cleanse” himself, according to Douglas Vincitorio of Tanner’s management team. “He went out to the desert to do a ‘cleansing’ as he called it. Kind of like ‘Survivorman.’” These short trips were not new to Tanner, said Vincitorio. It is something that he has done numerous times over the years.

“What we were told is that (Sheriff’s officials who found Tanner) believe his motorcycle had run out of gas, so he went to walk out in like 115- to 118-degree heat,” Vincitorio said. “He was miles away from his camp. That’s where the helicopter found him. Right now, they just think that he succumbed to the heat.”
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Tanner had apparently told friends before he left that if they hadn’t heard from him in a couple of days, they should contact officials, which is what happened. When he stopped responding to text messages, friends waited a couple of days and then notified officials at the Imperial County Sherrif’s Department on Friday.

A search ensued and Tanner’s body was found Monday.

On Aug. 10, Tanner wrote a blog on Spike TV’s website, proclaiming his desire to start an adventure in the desert east of his new home in Oceanside, Calif. An avid outdoorsman and wandering spirit, he wanted to escape civilization for a while.

“I’m not just going out into the desert, I’m going out into the desert to hunt for lost treasure,” he wrote. “I’m going on a pilgrimage of sorts, a journey to solitude, to do some thinking, and to pay my respects to the great mysteries.”

On Aug. 16, Tanner wrote about collecting supplies for his journey, and wrote about the dangers he might face.

“I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life,” he said. “I’ve been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to know all I can about where I’m going, and I want to make sure I have the best equipment.”

Of course, this led followers of his blog to fear for his safety, as they often did when Tanner reported his frequent by-the-seat-of-his-pants adventures. In a blog dated Aug. 27, Tanner tried to calm his audience.

“This isn’t a version of ‘Into the Wild,’” he wrote. “I’m not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife, to try to live off the land. I’m going fully geared up, and I’m planning on having some fun.”

But he also affirmed that things could go wrong if his equipment wasn’t up to snuff.

“I do plan on going back pretty far, so I did mention in one of my posts that I wanted to make sure to have good quality gear,” he said. “Any failure of gear out in the desert could cause a problem.”

On Sept. 2, Tanner wrote his final blog entry, documenting a training session at a facility in Oceanside.

The Amarillo, Texas native was a high school wrestling stand out who won the state championships his junior and senior years despite only getting into the sport as a sophomore. He entered mixed martial arts in 1997 encouraged by friends.

Tanner rose to the top of the mixed martial arts world by winning the UFC middleweight title over David Terrell at UFC 51: “Super Saturday” Feb. 5, 2005. He lost the title later in the year to Rich Franklin. Tanner, who had a career MMA record of 32-8 last competed in the UFC on June 21 losing to Kendall Grove by split decision.

“He will obviously be sorely missed,” said Vincitorio. Adding, “I think that Evan would want to be remembered as a very complex man with many layers, not just a fighter.”

Tanner was surely a unique personality. He’s eclectic spirit and competitive nature will be sorely missed in the MMA community.

# For all the latest MMA news, go to MMAWeekly.com

I'm heartbroken, he was one of my favorites ;( i always loved his uniqueness and just openness about his demons and his life...

i'm speechless

[evilbeefchan]

Just hear the news a few minutes ago, still can't believe it. I know he's admitted to doing some crazy stuff before, so I'm not as shocked as I should be. Horrible way to go, but I guess he passed doing what he wanted to do. =\

[Toaster126]

The dude had a lot of personal demons, but he was almost entirely self-taught, and proved that with some hard work, we can all accomplish what we most desire, or at least be honorable in the attempt and not feel foolish. That's what I take from his life, and I hope he is able to appreciate that somehow.

[Paq]

Induct Evan Tanner to the UFC Hall of Fame

petition to induct tanner into the hall of fame posthumously.

[Not Right Now]

I'm still very bummed about Evan.

[Not Right Now]

Anybody catch Nate Diaz-Josh Neer?

[Paq]

great match, back and forth, there is a website that has the fightnight up if you missed it. it's something MMA that has a LINKER at a dotcom address great fight. alexander was entertaining as always

[Not Right Now]

yeah I caught it, but no one was mentioning it so i was beginning to wonder. I marked out hard when Nate almsot scored that Triangle.

Houston needs Jits lessons. He also needs to be called on his illegal needs.

[Paq]

knees, right?

and yea, houston would be nowhere if he didn't just slaughter jardine. He is like a whitebelt on the ground and it's embarrassing. i was hoping nate would lose, but it was a pretty impressive back and forth match. There was some weird after fight altercation with the diaz brothers storming out of the conference flipping people off...hilarious.

[Not Right Now]

Originally Posted by Paq

knees, right?

and yea, houston would be nowhere if he didn't just slaughter jardine. He is like a whitebelt on the ground and it's embarrassing. i was hoping nate would lose, but it was a pretty impressive back and forth match. There was some weird after fight altercation with the diaz brothers storming out of the conference flipping people off...hilarious.

yeah, knees. Don't know how that one has slipped by me.

He used one on Jardine, and hit two or three on Schaffer, yet he's never once been called on it.

[Prophecy]

I just recently found out about this freak show of a fight (it was on the radio) Ken Shamrock vs Kimbo Slice.

Seems it's airing on CBS today, Oct. 4th, at 9 p.m. ET. I've never heard of this company Elite XC before, is the company actually a respectable brand? Mostly I've heard of PRIDE, UFC, WEC and a few Japanese promotions I can't recall the names of.

About the fighters. Shamrock was a great fighter but is all but washed up and put out to pasture. I'm pretty sure Shamrock has dropped his last four or five fights. Kimbo on the other hand is nothing but a brawler that was made famous by the internet, however, it is my understanding he's taking MMA seriously and is trying to learn the game.

When all is said and done I still can't help but seeing a freak show & money grab. Sadly, I'm pretty sure I'll tune in for a little while just for the heck of it. Thoughts?

[docbungle]

Elite XC is mma making its way into non-cable stations, I believe. No great fights yet, but it's a good sign of the mainstream appeal. Hopefully they can land some good fights sometime soon.

[Paq]

Kimbo is being trained by Bas Rutten..that's enough for me to say he's coachable, passionate, and going to be someone..someday. He's still a brawler and i can't quite tell the diff between now and when he was streetfighting, but there are a few minor tweaks i've seen. i think his last fight against bo cantrell was a complete gimme, especially with that Ear...that was nasty..but i think he'll be tested more than people give credit by shammyboy. It just depends on which shamrock comes.

Elitexc is a bit of a freakshow type organization at the moment, sadly. they have a good women's division, but they give curano a lot of scrubs/less than impressive fighters and she misses weight constantly. That said, she's highly entertaining and draws a great crowd. She's also fun to talk to on myspace, so add her

either way, it's good for the sport bc it's starting to get some mainstream appeal and they are showing how it's safer than most people realize. It's not up to ufc level in production terms, but it's very watchable. Check wikipedia on elitexc to see the newest fight card. Andrei aarlovski will be performing and i'm anticipating that match more than most

[Bear Cub]

<-- Hearts Gina Carano, a.k.a Crush from the new American Gladiators.

[Paq]

who doesn't heart gina, though...she's so freaking cute and she can protect you from the big meanies...
hehe

[Bear Cub]

And she's only an inch taller than me, so our wedding pictures wouldn't look that awkward!

That aside, I do look forward to the Kimbo fight tonight. One of two things will happen:

Shamrock will win, showing that Slice has a looooong way to go before being taken seriously, as Shamrock has been washed up for years

or

Slice will knock out Shamrock, who didn't look particularly in shape at weigh ins, which will just be funny to watch.


It's a win/win for me either way.

[Paq]

yea, this is win/win for me, too. Worst case ; they go to decision, but i don't see that happening. I honestly don't think either one can last 15 minutes and i think one will mess up long before that happens